Early in May I noticed that I had not received my water bill, although sometimes the confirm mail is late. I called Eureka Springs Public Works to inquire on the amount I owed as I did not want to be late paying my monthly bill.
After confirming what I owed I dropped my payment check into the drop box on Hwy. 62 East as I have often done previously. About 10 days later my water was cut off to both buildings in Eureka Springs.
I immediately called Public Works, and they informed me that my water was shut off due to nonpayment. They told me I did not drop my payment into the drop box even though I have a carbon copy of the check I wrote. I proceeded to issue a credit card for May payment and also had to pay a water reconnection fee of over $100.
This brought back memories of my neighbors having their water cut off on a Friday afternoon due to nonpayment although they had paid their bill online. My neighbors had to wait until Monday to have their water service restored. In most cities it is protocol not to turn the water off on a Friday as residents will face hardship of doing without water all weekend.
We need a new Public Works director or a city manager, as most cities have, to oversee all departments and set up better systems of communications with the residents and department accountability. A few weeks ago, I made a call to Public Works asking if the director, Mr. Wiley, has passed away as he has not returned any of my calls in the past nine months.
Maybe he is pressed for time due to his workload, which if this is the case, would further show the need for a city manager to help get the systems and personnel in place to help all the city departments and [the] city itself to run more efficiently.
Paul Minze